Sound translating device supporting assembly



25, 1940- H. F. OBERGFELL 2,205,906

SOUND TRANSLATING DEVICE SUPPORTING ASSEMBLY Z ShQets-Sneet 1 Filed July 23, 1939 INVENTOR- Herber'T F Uberslell m M m ATTORNEYS.

2 Shoets-Sheet 2 H. F. OBERGFELL sounn TRANSLATING nzvrca surron'rme ASSEMBLY Filed July 23, 1959 June 25, 1940.

INVENTOR Harber'l' F Ubersfell M, M M

ATIORVEYS.

Patented June 25, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE scum) rmsmrmc pnvron surroa'rmc sssm mnr Application July 23, 1938, Serial No. 220,937

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to supporting assemblies for sound translating devices and has for one of its objects the provision of an improved assembly arrangement for mounting a 5 sound translating device of the cell type upon a supporting member.

Itis another object of the invention to provide a compact, economical and exceedingly simple supporting assembly for a sound translating. device of the unitary or cell type, which assembly is so arranged that the sound translating device is firmly supported and a pleasing appearance of the assembly is obtained.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a supporting assembly of the character described wherein one of the supporting elements for the sound translating device is also utilized as 'a terminal conductor.

It is a still further object of the invention to 20 provide an improved and simple device, adapted for use in retaining a sound translating unit positioned within the housing members of its supporting structure, which may be economically manufactured in large quantities.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the assembly is shown as comprising a supporting member having a cup-shaped recess therein and a cover member adapted to be secured to the supporting member to define a chamber therebetween. A sound translating device including a conductive housing adapted to serve as a connecting terminal is positioned within the chamber and a structure including a terminal and supporting element adapted to engage the housing of the sound translating device is pro vided for supporting the device within the chamber. The housing of the sound translating device and the cover member are preferably so constructed and arranged that an acoustical resonating chamber, not connected with the chamber within which the device is mounted, is provided between the housing of the device and the cover member. More particularly, the supporting member is provided with an outwardly extending ledge, and the supporting and cover members are provided with interengaging threads for securing the two members together, the construction and arrangement being such that the rim of the cover member engages the ledge of the supporting member to merge the outer surfaces ofthe two members into a smooth, substantially unbroken, surface when the two members are tightly secured together. Also, the two members are so constructed and arranged that an annular retaining space is provided between the rim of the cup-shaped portion of the supporting member and the inner surface of the cover member when the two members are tightly secured together. The housing for the translating device is provided with an enlarged annu- 5 lar portion which is adapted to extend within this retaining space and has a thickness substantially less than the width of the space. The terminal element which engages the housing is provided with resilient fingers arranged to press 10 against the enlarged portion of the housing when the supporting and cover members are screwed together, whereby the inner surface of the cover member is caused firmly to engage the adjacent surface of the housing. The terminal and sup- 15 porting element mentioned above is in the form of a substantially U-shaped resilient element having legs carrying projections for embracing the frame or housing of, the sound translating unit, which legs are adapted to be moved apart to 20 position the projections so that the frame or housing of the unit may be inserted therebetween and are arranged to be snugly embraced by the inner walls of the cup-shaped portion of the supporting member when the sound translating 25 unit is inserted between the projections. The legs of this U-shaped member also carry the resilient fingers mentioned above which press against the frame or housing of the sound translating devicev to retain the housing in firm en- 80 gagement with the inner surface of the cover member.

The novel features believed to be characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, both as 86 to its organization and mode of assembly, will best be understood by reference to the specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side view, partially in section, illustrating the invention in 40 its embodiment in a telephone instrument of the hand set type, Figs. 2 and 3 are detail views illustrating the arrangement pf the terminals embodied in the hand set shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a view, partially in section, taken along the line 45 4-4 of Fig. 1, Figs. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate the details of the terminal and supporting element embodied in the receiver assembly shown in Fig. 1, and Figs. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate the details of the terminal and supporting element embodied in the transmitter assembly shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, there is illustrated a telephone instrument of the hand set type which comprises a supporting member Ill provided at its upper end with a cup-shaped recess or opening ll, within which a sound translating device in the form of a receiver unit I2 is adapted to extend, and at its lower end with a cup-shaped recess or opening l3 for accommodating a. sound translating device in the form of a transmitter cell l4. The receiver l2 and the transmitter l4 are adapted to be connected in a substation circuit, not shown, by means comprising the conductors of a. cable I! "which extends through an opening It provided in the transmitter end of the instrument. In the arrangement illustrated, a three-conductor cable I! is used, the conductors of which are indicated at l1, l3 and II, respectively. The cable I! further comprises a stay cord, not shown, but secured to a. terminal piece 2| which is anchored to the member ID by means comprising a metal insert piece 22 drilled and tapped to receive a screw 23 which extends through the eye of the piece 2i. The conductors i1, i3 and i9 are connected to terminals in the form of brass insert pieces also drilled andtapped to receive terminal screws. One such insert piece is shown at 24 as terminating the conductor i1 and having a screw 25 threaded into the tapped opening provided therein. For the purpose of interconnecting the terminals of the receiver cell l2 with the terminals of the transmitter cell l4 and the conductors of the cable ii, there are provided a. plurality of insulated conductors extending throughout the length of the member HI and connected to brass terminal pieces mounted in the bottom of the cup shaped opening ll of the member l0. One such conductor is indicated at 26 as being connected between the insert piece 24 and a second insert piece 21 mounted in the bottom of the opening H. The insert piece 21 is provided with a tapped opening into which is threaded a terminal screw 23. A second conductor 29 extending to an insert piece 33, tapped to receive a terminal screw 3|, is also provided for making the proper connections with the terminals of the receiver cell i2. Preferably, the hand set handle or supporting member ill is formed of moulded Bakelite or other suitable insulating material, the various terminal or insert pieces, together with the connecting conductors 26, 29, etc., being imbedded therein and bonded to the insulating material during the moulding process. In the arrangement illustrated the receiver cell I2 is provided with a conductive lionsing which is adapted to serve as one connecting terminal. This terminal is connected to the insert piece 21 by means comprising a terminal and supporting element 32 described in detail hereinafter. The terminal element 32 is further anchored at the bottom of the opening II by means comprising a screw 35 threaded into a metal insert piece imbedded in the supporting member ill and extending through an opening drilled in a projection 36 formed integral with and extending from the element 32. The receiver per se is of the permanent magnet type, preferably being of the improved form disclosed and claimed in the copending application Serial No. 220,758, Harold C. Pye, filed July 22, 1938. This receiver includes a permanent magnet 4 positioned between pole piece extensions 3a and 3b on the outside of the receiver cell housing and two connecting terminals. The second terminal is in the form of a conductive strip 33 mounted upon and insulated from the housing of the cell l2, and arranged to be engaged by a contact spring 34 which extends to the insert piece when the cell is positioned within the opening II. The

transmitter cell I4, which is of the granularcarbon type and may be of any desired commercial construction, is also provided with a conductive housing which forms one connecting terminal and is adapted to be engaged by a terminal and supporting elements 31 described in detail hereinafter. The element 31 is anchored to a ledge formed interiorly of the opening l3 by means of screws 33 and 33 threaded into metal insert pieces, not shown, but imbedded in the handle member I. within the recess 13. The second terminal of the transmitter cell i4 is connected to a terminal cap 3 which is insulated from the housing of the cell and is engaged by the two prongs of a contact spring 3. The spring 3 extends from and is mounted upon a metal insert piece imbedded in the handle member II.

For the purpose of partially positioning the receiver cell i2 within the cup-shaped recess II, the inner walls of the member II which define the recess II are provided with three evenly spaced guide ridges 3, 8 and 1 which are adapted to be engaged by the housing of the cell l2. The cup-shaped portion of the handle member Ill within which the receiver cell i2 is mounted is provided with a portion of reduced cross section which is threaded to engage the internal mating threads of a cup-shaped cover member in the form of an ear piece 43. The ledge extending from the outer surface of the cup-shaped portion of the member In inwardly to the portion of reduced cross section is adapted to be engaged by the rimof the ear piece 40 when this ear piece is screwed into place so that the outer surface of the ear piece merges with the outer surface of the cup-shaped portion of the member In to provide a substantially unbroken surface of pleasing appearance. Also, the inner surface of the ear piece 43 and the side walls thereof cooperate with the rim of the upper cupshaped portion of the member 13 to define an annular retaining space within which the enlarged or flanged portion 4| of the receiver cell housing is adapted to extend. For the purpose of maintaining the inner surface of the ear piece 43 in firm engagement with the adjacent surface of the receiver cell housing, the terminal and supporting element 32 is provided with resilient fingers which are adapted to press the housing of the cell I2 outward and into engagement with the ear piece 40. More particularly, and as best shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 'l, the element 32 is substantially U-shaped and comprises a base portion 42 and two legs 43 and 44. Each of the legs 43 and 44 carries at its outer extremity a bent-over portion which is arcuately shaped to conform to the contour of the inner wall of the ear piece 43 and to the contour of the receiver cell housing wall. Thus, the leg 43 carries at its outer extremity an arcuately shaped portion 43 comprising two oppositely extending fingers 43. and a. Similarly, the leg 44 carries at its free extremity an arcuately shaped bent-over portion 43 comprising two oppositely extending fingers 48. and 43b. The fingers 45., 43s,. 43s and 43s are bent outwardly from the base portion 42 of the terminal element 32 and are adapted to =press against the enlarged annular portion 4| of the cell l2 when the instrument is assembled. In order to permit the legs of the element 32 to be moved apart so that the cell l2 may be positioned between the arcuately shaped leg portions 45 and 43, the inner walls defining the recess II are provided with shallow slots which are adapted to'receive the legs 43 and 44.

The ear piece 45 is provided with a plurality of small sound transmission passages 4i which communicate with an acoustical resonating chamber 42 formed between the inner surface cates with a resonating chamber formed interiorly of the receiver cell housing and adjacent the diaphragm of the cell through an opening 43' cut in the top portion of the receiver cell housing. The opening 43 is offset with respect to the openings 4i provided in the ear piece 40 to prevent the entrance of dirt and moisture into the diaphragm chamber and to prevent tampering with the receiver cell diaphragm when the instrument is assembled.

The transmitter cell assembly arrangement is substantially similar to the receiver assembly described above. Thus, the cup-shaped lower portion of the member i0 is provided with a portion of reduced cross section which is exteriorly threaded to engage cooperating threads formed interiorly of a cup-shaped cover member in the form of a mouth piece 50. When the mouth piece is screwed into place to secure the two members In and 50 together, the rim of the mouth piece 50 engages the ledge extending between the outer surface of the lower cup-shaped portion of the handle member ID to merge the outer surfaces of the two members l0 and 50 into a substantially unbroken surface of pleasing appearance. Also, the bottom and side walls of the mouth piece 50, in conjunction with the rim of the recess i3, provide a retaining space within which the enlarged portion SI of the transmitter cell i4 is adapted to extend. For the purpose of maintaining the inner bottom surface of the mouth piece 50 in firm engagement with the adjacent surface of the transmitter cell housing, the terminal and supporting element 31 is provided with resilient fingers which are adapted to press outwardly against the transmitter cell housing when the assembly is completed. More particularly, and as best shown in Figs. 2, 8, 9 and 10, the terminal element 31 is substantially U-shaped and comprises a base portion 53, arcuately-shaped to conform to the contour of the inner wall surface of the opening 13, and two legs 54 and 55. The leg 54 carries at its free extremity an arcuately shaped portion 56 forming two resilient fingers 55. and 56b and having its outer edge shaped to conform to the inner wall surface of the mouth piece 50. Theflngers 56a and s are bent outwardly from the base portion 53 of the terminal element 31 and the two legs 54 and 55 are bent slightly toward each other, all in the manner shown in Fig. 10. The leg 54 also has extending therefrom two projections 51a and 51b. The leg 55, like the leg '54, carries at its free extremity an arcuately shaped portion 58 comprising two fingers 58. and 581, which are bent outwardly from the base portion 53 of the element 31. This leg also has extending therefrom two projections 59-. and 59b which, in combination with the projections 51. and 51s, are adapted to embrace the outer edge of the enlarged portion 5| of the transmitter cell l4 when the legs 54 and 55 are moved apart to permit the enlarged annular portion of the transmitter cell to be inserted therebetween. The side walls I 3 defining the recess ii are provided with two oppositely disposed longitudinally extending slots,

each adapted to receive one of the legs 54 and 55.

The mouth piece II is provided with .a' plurality ofspaced-apart sound transmission passages" which communicate with an acoustical chamber ll formed 'betweenthe mouth piece 5| and the housing of the transmitter cell l4. To provide the-chamber ii, the mouth piece It is cut away in the manner illustrated so that the outer edge of the cell. I4 abuts a ledge formed interiorly of the mouth piece It. The. chamber 6i communicates with the diaphragm chamber of the cell l4 through the provision ofa sound transmission. passage extending through the transmitter cell housing, and shown in dotted lines at 52. The passage 42 is offset with respect to the sound transmission passages 50 to guard the diaphragm oi. the transmitter cell. against damage in the manner explained above with reference to the receiver assembly. v

In assembling the telephone instrument, the conductors of the cord or cable l5 are first appropriately connected to the terminal-pieces imbedded in the handle member ll, following which the terminal and supporting element 31 is mounted within the opening II and the terminal and supporting element 32 is mounted within the opening Ii. As shown in Flg. 10, the leg 54 of the element 31 is bent slightly toward the base portion 53, whereas theleg 55 forms an obtuse angle with the base portion. Hence, when the element 31 is mounted within the recess ii, the leg 55 is firmly biased against the side wall of the recess and the upper end of the leg 54 is slightly displaced from the side wall of the recess.

In order to complete the receiver cell supporting assembly, the portion of the cell I! of reduced cross section is inserted within the arcuately shaped portions 45 and 48 of the element 32. The arrangement is such that the receiver cell I2 is snugly embraced by the arcuately shaped portions 45 and 46 of the element 32, and the legs 43 and 44 are snugly embraced by the slots provided in the side walls of the cup-shaped recess II when the cell I2 is inserted between the legs 43 and 44. The final assembly step is that of screwing the ear piece 40 upon the threaded portion of the walls defining the opening ii. During this operation, the inner surface of the ear piece 40 is moved into engagement with the adjacent surface of the receiver cell housing so that the receiver cell is moved toward the bottom of the opening ll. As this movement progresses, the fingers 45s, 45s, 45. and 45s are flattened and the terminal cap 33 is moved into engagement with the contact spring 34. As the enumerated resilient fingers are flattened, these fingers press with increasing force against the receiver cell housing to insure a firm engagement between the engaging surfaces of the housing and the ear piece. Preferably, these engaging surfaces are so formed that the acoustical chamber 42 is effectively sealed from the chamber formed back of. the cell l2 within the recess II.-

The manner of completing the transmitter supporting assembly is substantially similar to that just described with reference to the receiver assembly. In this case, however, the leg 54 of the element 31 is moved away from the leg 55 to permit the enlarged annular portion 5i of the transmitter cell to be inserted between the projections '51., 51b, 55. and 59b. When the leg 54 is released, the projections 56a and 5% carried by the leg 54 force the rim of the cell i4 against the 7 oppositely disposed projections 58. and "a. Since the leg is firmly biased against the side wall of the recess It, the action of the leg 54 to force the cell toward the leg 55 serves accurately to position the cell within the recess l3. Aside from the different method of positioning the cell H within the recess IS, the transmitter end of the hand set is assembled in the exact manner described above with reference to the receiver assembly.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A supporting assembly for a sound translating device comprising, in combination, a supporting member including a side wall defining a cup-shaped recess therein, a cup-shaped cover member adapted to be secured to said supporting member to define a chamber therebetween, said members being so constructed and arranged that an annular retaining space is provided between the rim of the side wall of. said supporting member and the inner surface of said cover member when said members are secured together, a sound translating device including a conductive housing adapted to serve as a connecting terminal, said housing having an enlarged annular portion adapted to extend within said annular space when said device is positioned within said cham-- ber and having a thickness substantially less than the width of said annular space, a substantially U-shaped terminal element arranged in said chamber and provided with two spacedapart legs, each of the legs of said element being provided with a laterally extending arcuateshaped portion arranged within said annular space between the rim of the side wall of said supporting member and the enlarged portion of the housing of said device, and means including a number of. spaced-apart and outwardly extending fingers carried by the arcuate-shaped portion of each of the legs of said element and engaging the enlarged annular portion of the housing of said device for spring biasing the adjacent surface of the enlarged annular portion of the housher and the inner surface of said cover member when said members are secured together, a sound translating device including a conductive housing adapted to serve as a connecting terminal, said housing having an enlarged annular portion adapted to extend within said annular space when said device is positioned within said chamber and having a thickness substantially less than the width of said annular space, a substantially U-shaped terminal element arranged in said chamber and provided with two spaced-apart legs, each of the legs of said element being provided with a laterally extending arcuate-shaped portion arranged within said annular space between the rim of the side wall of said supporting member and the enlarged portion ofv the housing of said device, means including a number of spaced-apart and outwardly extending projections carried by the arcuate-shaped portion of each of the legs of said element for clamping laterally therebetween the rim of the enlarged annular portion of the housing of said device, thereby positively to position the housing of said device within said chamber and with respect to the side wall of. said supporting member, and means including a number of spaced-apart and outwardly extending fingers carried by the arcuate-shaped portion of each of the legs of said element and engaging the enlarged annular portion of the housing of said device for pressing the adjacent surface of the enlarged annular portion of the housing of said device into firm engagement with the inner surface of said cover member when said cover member is secured to said supporting member.

HERBERT F. OBERGFELL. 

